Rory McIlroy makes subtle Masters brag after suddenly bursting back onto scene
Rory McIlroy makes subtle Masters brag after suddenly bursting back onto scene
Sam Frost Fri, August 21, 2026 at 2:52 PM UTC
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Rory McIlroy has Masters green on his mind at the BMW Championship -Credit:James Gilbert/PGA TOUR via Getty Images
Rory McIlroy responded in style to his dismal PGA Tour return last week with a brilliant opening round at the BMW Championship, and there is a tantalizing prize on the line if he defies the odds and makes a hole-in-one.
The six-time major champion returned from a four-week break at the FedEx St. Jude Championship last week, and he finished just three spots off last place, a staggering 25 shots adrift of winner Scottie Scheffler.
McIlroy was deeply unhappy about the state of his game, but he has been working hard with coach Michael Bannon and caddie Harry Diamond since, and his long sessions on the range paid off at Bellerive on Thursday. He carded a bogey-free 64 to take a share of the lead at six under par. It comes after McIlroy blasted Scottie Scheffler for his comments on LIV Golf stars returning to the PGA Tour.
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A purse of $20 million and huge FedEx Cup bonuses are the main attraction for players this week, but there are also bonus prizes on offer from the title sponsor. Any player who makes a hole-in-one in St. Louis this week will be rewarded with a BMW of their choice.
"I think there's an initiative this week where, if you get a hole-in-one, you have the choice between two cars and maybe three different colors of each car," McIlroy said.
"I picked the car, and I picked the color. And I probably won't get it because it's a green X5. Might get it. Who knows."
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Why green? The answer is pretty obvious. "Sort of become my favorite color recently," McIlroy said, pointing to his back-to-back Masters victories and his proud ownership of the green jacket.
McIlroy was back in the groove at Bellerive -Credit:Getty Images
Hole-in-one prizes are common in pro golf, but although McIlroy has achieved pretty much everything there is to do in the game, he has never won one. "No. I've had hole-in-ones. I've never gotten anything for them, though. Usually, they have cost me," he laughed.
Although McIlroy looked like a very different player to the one who struggled in Memphis a week ago, he is not getting carried away. He says he is a long way from being at his best.
"I went home, and I worked on a few things and at least got myself back in a frame of mind where I felt like I'm at least back on the right path of what I'm doing with my game and with my swing," he said.
"It's certainly a work in progress. Days like this are encouraging, obviously. There's still a lot of work to be done.
"But for the first round with what I'm trying to do, middle rehearsal on the takeaway, all that sort of stuff, it went as well as it could have today, for sure."
He added: "Still thinking about the swing a lot, but at the same time just trying to blend the two together, so at least I'm seeing shots and being a little bit more visual than I was last week."
Meanwhile, McIlroy accused Phil Mickelson of 'blowing up' golf with his latest LIV move.
Source: “AOL Sports”
